Erin O'Hara: naturopath and wellness expert on why walking after eating is beneficial

The start of daylight savings means longer days - and the extra light can help motivate people to get outside and get some exercise.

Walking after meals offers numerous health benefits, including improved digestion, regulated blood sugar levels, improved heart health and it can elevate your mood by releasing positive hormones.

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara reveals how to incorporate more walks into your day-to-day life.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News talks'b.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Joining me now to talk wellness eron ihara. Good morning,
Good morning, right day, night saving has kicked in. It's
nice to see a little bit more light in the evenings.
And actually this week a girl friend of mine who's
a teacher, texts me on I think was Thursday afternoon
and said, hey, end of the day, five o'clock, go
for a walk around the park. And I looked at something, Yeah,
let's do it. You just feel a little bit more

(00:33):
motivated to fit a bit of exercise on at the
end of the day.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
I feel like it's the turning point that everyone kind
of gets a bit more motivated so to think healthier
and enjoys the evening. Can get out after work because
not leaving work and in the dark, it's not really
inspiring to go out and exercise when it's dark outside.
You're so right.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
It was that sense of yeah, I've been on my
screen all day, wouldn't mind a bit of fresh air
and I've got time. Yeah, Whereas once upon a time
I'm probably be thinking, okay, right, it's the end of
the day. Think about dinner and all those kind of things.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Well, the day just feels a bit longer with thin
extra light at the end of the day.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Is there a benefit to walking at the end of
the day, maybe after you've had your meal.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, there's so many research studies around exercising after eating
a meal, particularly walking, and I think it's a good
time with the longer evenings that if you have dinner
at a good hour, so not at ten o'clock at night,
and then get out for a bit of fresh air
and a bit of a walk, it's actually got so
many health benefits, including improving digestion, reducing cholesterol, helping with

(01:33):
weight management, elevating mood, and actually helping with those positive
hormones as well as if you do have things like diabetes,
it's getting really good sugar regulation as whatever you've eaten,
it's actually helping to process the carbohydrate as you get
out and exercise them of your body.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Okay, so these positive benefits of exercising after eating. Is
it about walking or are there other forms of excise
which are just as good.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Well, most of the research is done on walking because
it's simple, it's something most people can do. But if
you don't like walking, then you could do something else.
So it's more around moving your body and exercising, and
it's not about excessive amounts so necessarily, like if you've
just had a meal, you're not going to go out
for a run, So don't think more is better. Actually

(02:19):
is about just getting in some simple movement, and if
you don't usually move your body and do any exercise,
it's a good place to start. And your good place
to start is actually just ten minutes, Like you don't
have to go out for an hour walk after dinner.
It's a matter of heav your meal, let it digest
a little bit, and then get up and go for
a nice little walk just around the block. And it

(02:41):
might even be that you start with five minutes, build
it up to ten minutes, and if you're into just
getting that balance of good sugar levels across the day,
it might be that you start just after dinner and
then maybe you've got a little bit of extra time
you then add it into after lunch, you put ten minutes,
and then maybe if you can even build up to
after breakfast as well, then you're getting three ten minute walks,

(03:03):
and there's you're thirty minute walking a day. Now you're
putting the pressure on, but you know it's a little
and often and getting that accumulation of movement through the day.
And I find that if you're not an exerciser and
you don't love exercise, then that miscellaneous exercise and movement
that you can bring in through little bite size amounts

(03:24):
is a lot more achievable than putting in big volume.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
It's so true though, because so many people will sit
at their desk and eat their lunch, so and their
half the time, they sort of seem me working through lunch.
So maybe you do that, but then you go, I'm
taking with ten minutes, I'm taking a break. I'm going
outside walking around the block.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, and get that pressure, get the light, actually get
if you have an office that doesn't have a lot
of windows, it's great to just get out outside breaks
up the day. You actually improve productivity in the afternoon
if you've had a little break and actually got away
from your computer. But it's really that comes down to,
like that movement. If the benefit of walking is huge,

(04:00):
and so if you can just bring in little bite
size amounts, you'll get the benefit. And don't forget to
breathe as you walk and you can make it a
moving meditation too.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
There we go. You're very good at helping us create habits.
How do we make this a consistent thing? How do
we get consistent to this? I think start small. Start
with just a evening walk after dinner, and start with
five minutes. And also, don't have an actual exact amount
you need to do, because you might get out for
five minutes and be like, actually am loving this, feel

(04:30):
so good, I'm going to go for ten minutes. So
if you just start small and you can build it
up slowly. Also, maybe find a buddy. You're always having
a buddy to motivate you and be like, hey, let's
meet for a walk after dinner, and then you're probably
more likely to do a bit more because she can
chat and talk and catch up and have that social
connection as well as getting in the exercise. Love it,

(04:52):
Thank you so much. Eron Talk next week.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
live to News Talks It'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.